A politically-minded social researcher's view of the world, work, and life in general.

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The thing about having a kids is, she becomes the center of your universe and, ultimately, the reason you make the choices you make. Or, at least, for me, this is the case.

Why do I live in Albania? Because it was the best place for her. Short commute equals more Mommy time. Country without Malaria means no meds. Place that is super child friendly equates to less boundaries, visits to fancy restaurants, and abundant kisses and candies from strangers.

Why do we no longer have a house full of sweets? Because I am trying to model healthy eating habits despite what my sweat tooth says.

Where do we spend summer vacation? With family. Yes, there are tons of places that I would love to visit. Montenegro is so close and, yet, I travel home to snow and cold so that she can build a relationship with her grandparents and cousins.

How do I spend my freetime? Sometimes on me, because that makes me a better Mom. But, more often than not, I end up looking up fun activities or recipes she can help with. I research school choices and safe play toys. I plan and replan birthday parties and rainy afternoon activities.

What was the last book I read? Brown bear, Brown bear. It was the millionth time this week— but it makes her smile and giggle so strong her entire body shakes. I would read it a million times more just to continue to illicit that joy.

Why do I come out? Because I want to build a world where it doesn’t matter what people’s sexuality or gender identities are, because we value them for who they are, what they believe, and how they act. I react based on how they make us feel. Because I want a safe place for my daughter to grow and explore. So that I can model good behavior and no pass down any residual internalized homophobia that I may harbor. I come out regularly because I want her to know that you don’t have to be invisible.

She is nearly three and I don’t know who she will become…. but I do want her to know that whoever that person is, her Mommy will love her. Always.

*** *** *** Today is Blogging for LGBT Families Day, an annual event sponsored by Mombian. Check out all the entries from this year! Here are my entries from other years:

Suddenly the World Seems Like Such a Perfect Place (2013): “Love isn’t what Hollywood sells us. It isn’t just grand gestures. And song. (Well, maybe sometimes it is, if you are lucky). It also isn’t always tragic or fated. Love, the kind of love that grows families, is in the small things. It is the everyday things. It is getting up in the morning to make coffee because your partner has to. It is letting go of a bit of yourself to be there for the other. It is reminding the other who they are and supporting them in that. It is having the same interests. Laughing at little inside jokes even when they are no longer funny. Sharing values and night time diaper changes. It is feeling comfortable and safe. It is being safe.”

Families by Choice (2011): “I sit writing this, waiting for the arrival of my daughter. As a bisexual woman married to a man, I worry about educating my child. I worry how to create a home environment that is safe, a place where she can grow up without shame, knowing who she is and who her family is. I worry about the best ways to help her grow in a bilingual, biracial household– especially when that is located in a third culture. I ponder how my messages can be stronger than societies. I worry about everyday stuff and big picture stuff.”

Because of a Little Piece of Paper (2010): ”So often I feel this unearned privilege of having married a man thrown in my face. What if S had been a woman? My life partner very easily could have been a woman. And what protections would she have been given? The unfairness of it all burns. And, you think I exaggerate, but writing this, my eyes are welling with tears.”

Blogging for LGBT Families (2007): “Karen Atala, a Chilean judge with three children, had her children taken away from her by the courts in 2004 when she moved in with her partner. The courts granted custody to the father, he ex-husband. Ms. Atala, being a lawyer and judge herself, appealed all the way to the Supreme Court of Chile which ruled on the basis that, “[the children] would suffer psychological harm living with Ms. Atala and her partner…[and that] they would become confused about gender roles and suffer from discrimination and isolation.” The court then nullified all her rights as a mother and gave permanent and total custody to the girl’s father forever. She is still fighting, now on an international front, to have her children returned to her.”

I started looking for hearts everywhere I went about 8 months ago. It was then that I first saw a post on instagram posted by Emily making reference to the chainlink heart project. Curious, I checked it out. What I found both broke my heart and inspired me. You can read Jennifer’s story here and why she needs to collect hearts to heal. You can read about losing her own son due to a broken heart and the decision no parent should ever have to make. Be careful. Her words are well chosen and, at least for me, poignant and painful.

I wanted to be part of her solution, part of the chainlink heart project. So, I started looking for hearts to help her map grow. As of today, she has received hearts from 16% of the world. I have submitted two from Albania so far.

Can you help Jennifer expand this map?

Bonus pictures from Rancagua, Chile:

Scary how many pink hearts you find when you look down a toy aisle in Jumbo, Rancagua.

Have you heard about this new series over at Lesbian Family? Have you heard about the two cases the U.S. Supreme Court is hearing on marriage equality? Well, this series, every Wednesday at LesbianFamily.com addresses the importance protecting same sex couples through legal marriage and all the benefits that go with it!

We’re interested in your stories and your thoughts. We’d like to share your voices, your life experiences, as they answer any number of the following questions:

Does legal recognition of your relationship matter to you? To what degree, and why?

Did you find yourself feeling one way about legal recognition of your relationship before having kids, and another way after?

What do your kids think about the issue–if indeed they do at all? Does what your kids think about legal relationship recognition have an impact on your beliefs?

If you live in a state that has recently fought this battle at the ballot box or in the courts: what was your experience of that battle? If you had kids in your life during the battle, what was its impact on your kids?

If you got legally married: tell us your story! How did it feel? If you had kids yet, did they come? And what did it mean to you as a family?

If you’ve had a commitment ceremony before same-sex marriage was available, what significance has that event continued to have for you? For those who later married: how did the two events compare?

If you’ve not been legally married: would you, if you could? Why? Or why not?

For those of you active in or watchers of LGBT politics: what impact have you seen the marriage equality struggle have on the larger LGBT civil rights movement? Salutary, or distracting? Who do you think is driving this thing, and why? What other issues are being neglected as so much attention is on relationship recognition, and at what cost?

Clearly any one of those questions is enough. But we list them all to help pry the thoughts and stories out of you, even if you feel you may not have one. We’re especially interested in hearing from folks who feel that their viewpoint on the whole marriage equality issue is in the minority, or controversial, or overlooked, or disrespected, or misunderstood. It’s a complex issue, and we’ll only get at that complexity by telling our stories and listening carefully to them.

Submit your story, or a short (less than five minute) video, and we’ll include it in the series, which we’ll run weekly on Wednesdays up through the Supreme Court’s decision.

Clara Zetkin and other founders of women’s rights movements and International Women’s Day would roll over in their graves if they knew that International Women’s Day had been reduced to a day of giving flowers and chocolates to females. The day was started midst struggle and the truth is that women around the world still struggle. According to the US census, the median annual income of women age 15 or older who worked year-round, full time in 2011 was $37,118 and $48, 202 for men.

Celebrate National Women’s History Month by advocating for equal pay for equal work! Celebrate National Women’s Day by fighting against gender based violence! Celebrate Women by getting involved, by voting, by demanding politicians take a stand on women’s issues, by speaking out when you hear people make jokes at the expense of women’s safety or dignity, and by teaching our daughters that the world not only can but must be different for them.

Check out this website which is trying to be a hub for March 8th activities and activism around the world. They have deemed that 2013’s theme should be “The Gender Agenda”

2013 Theme: THE GENDER AGENDA: GAINING MOMENTUM

Over time and distance, the equal rights of women have progressed. We celebrate the achievements of women while remaining vigilant and tenacious for further sustainable change. There is global momentum for championing women’s equality.

I first heard about No Name Calling Week over at Lesbian Family. I thought the idea was great.

I have been thinking about bullying and what I want to say about it. This is a hard topic for me. I was bullied. But I was lucky– I have the personality and a strong support system that allowed me to walk away only slightly damaged. I certainly see how it affected and affects some others deeply. I worry about how my daughter will be treated and seen. So, this week, I am going to try and talk about bullying. Wish me luck!

About No Name-Calling Week

Coordinated by GLSEN in collaboration with over 60 national education organizational partners, No Name-Calling Week is an annual week of educational activities aimed at ending name-calling of all kinds and providing schools with the tools and inspiration to launch an on-going dialogue about ways to eliminate bullying in their communities.

Being that I work overseas, you might expect that I would use today to talk about Trafficking in Persons in the country I live in currently (Albania). Or, the country I just came from (Kazakhstan). Or, the country where I did research on human trafficking (Chile). Or, the country where I knew children who were trafficked (Moldova). But, today I won’t do that. I want to talk about human trafficking int he country I call home (USA).

The sad truth is that human trafficking continues to be a problem in the US. Yes, in large cities: New York, LA, Boston. But also in rural areas of the country, small towns, suburbia.

A few jobs ago, I worked with some victims of human trafficking. Men who were lured to the US with promises of jobs and money to send home and instead ended up working in slave like conditions in Middle America with their passports confiscated and the door to the house they lived in padlocked from the outside. After several months, someone put in a tip and they were freed. They were freed, but they weren’t compensated for their losses. They were free, but they still had to explain to wives and children what happened to them. They have been free for years now, but I am sure their experience still haunts them. Honestly, their stories still haunt me.

An estimated 14,500 to 17,500 foreign nationals are trafficked into the United States each year. The number of U.S. citizens trafficked within the country is even higher, with an estimated 200,000 American children at risk for trafficking into the sex industry. (U.S. Department of Justice Report to Congress from Attorney General John Ashcroft on U.S. Government Efforts to Combat Trafficking in Persons)

These numbers are staggering and the realities are bleak. However, in the US, there are places you can report suspected cases of trafficking. Polaris Project suggests:

If you see any of these red flags, contact the National Human Trafficking Resource Center hotline at 1-888-3737-888 to report the situation. Click here to learn more about reporting potential human trafficking situations. This list is not exhaustive and represents only a selection of possible indicators. Also, the red flags in this list may not be present in all trafficking cases and are not cumulative.

Common Work and Living Conditions: The Individual(s) in Question

Is not free to leave or come and go as he/she wishes

Is under 18 and is providing commercial sex acts

Is in the commercial sex industry and has a pimp / manager

Is unpaid, paid very little, or paid only through tips

Works excessively long and/or unusual hours

Is not allowed breaks or suffers under unusual restrictions at work

Owes a large debt and is unable to pay it off

Was recruited through false promises concerning the nature and conditions of his/her work